


The Guy That I'd Kinda Be Into

by PrincessOTP



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: 7-Eleven, Alternate Universe - No Squip, Coming Out, Confused Jeremy, Fluff, Flustered Jeremy, M/M, Michael calling Jeremy Jerebear is my kink, Michael is the best boi, Oblivious Jeremy, PROTECT THEM, Pining Michael, Selfless Michael, Seriously help this boy out, Slushies, These two are my babies, Unrequited Crush, Weed, face-touching, i love them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-28
Updated: 2018-01-28
Packaged: 2019-03-10 12:12:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13501440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincessOTP/pseuds/PrincessOTP
Summary: "'The guy that I’d kinda be into…' Christine trailed off.'The guy that you’d kinda be into…?.' Jeremy prompted, nervous to hear the answer.'Yeah, that guy that I’d kinda be into is….' Christine paused for dramatic effect. 'Michael.'”In which, the guy Christine likes is Michael instead of Jake and Jeremy is jealous but maybe not for the reasons he initially thinks.





	The Guy That I'd Kinda Be Into

Acting was something that Jeremy didn’t see himself doing before, but now he was in a play and it wasn’t too bad at all. Midsummer Night’s Dream was more fun to do than Jeremy thought it would be. Shakespearean English was kind of difficult to get at first, but after he learned it, it was cool. Christine wasn’t happy when they were told they were doing a zombified version of this classic play, but Jeremy liked it. He thought zombies were pretty cool. If you looked at how many hours he’s played Apocalypse of The Damned, you would know that.

Even though Jeremy had just joined the school play because he saw Christine sign up for it, he actually really liked acting. Christine was a bonus, though. He was also hoping that having this experience could help him with his anxiety. Getting up in front of people is hard, but it’s easier when you’re not being yourself. If you’re playing a character, people aren’t going to judge you for you. They still might judge your acting though, which is why Jeremy still always is really shaky when he comes off the stage.

Jeremy was walking into play rehearsal when he saw Christine spacing out. It wasn’t unusual for her to be spacing out, but she had a really goofy look on her face. “H-hey, Christine, what’s up?” Jeremy asked, sitting down in the chair next to her and placing his backpack on the ground.

Christine snapped out of her trance. “Oh hey Jeremy!” She greeted cheerfully. “Sorry, I was just spacing out. Did I mention I may have a touch of ADD?”

“Um, yeah. You said that the first day of rehearsal.” 

“Oh, right! I remember now!”

“So, uh, what were you thinking about? Jeremy questioned, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. Christine blushed. 

“Well, um...” She began nervously. Jeremy didn’t think Christine _could_ be nervous. “Say there’s this person you pass in the hall everyday...”  
Jeremy was confused about where this was going but before he could say anything, Christine continued. “You’re used to thinking about him in a certain way, from the persona that he displayed... and then something changes. He’s someone you never knew that well. You thought you had him pegged but… now you can’t tell.” Her eyes lit up in the way they do when she’s talking about play rehearsal. “He changes from a guy that you’d never be into, into a guy that you’d kinda be into.”

“So, y-you’re into this guy?” Jeremy guessed. _‘Is she talking about me?’_ He thinks to himself, hopefully.

Christine turned a bit red again. “Yeah. Do you think he’s worth it, Jeremy?”

“Absolutely!” Jeremy blurted out, despite not knowing for sure who this mystery guy even is.

Christine exhaled. “I don’t always relate to all the people my age, except when I’m on the stage. There are _so many_ changes that I’m going through… I don’t even know why I’m telling you this.” She paused for a second. “Guess there’s a part of me that wants to. I really like to sit and talk to you, Jeremy.” Jeremy’s heart fluttered.

“U-um, w-well, who is he?” Jeremy questioned before he could think about what he was saying.

“The guy that I’d kinda be into…” Christine trailed off.

“The guy that you’d kinda be into…?” Jeremy prompted, nervous to hear the answer.

“Yeah, that guy that I’d kinda be into is….” Christine paused for dramatic effect. “Michael.”

“M-Michael?” Jeremy screeched. “A-as in Michael Mell???”

“Yup! That’s him!” Christine sighed dreamily. “Wait, aren’t you friends with him?”

“Y-yeah, since like kindergarten.”

Christine had a flash of realization. She swiftly grabbed Jeremy’s backpack of the ground. “Boyf. Michael’s says Riends, right? Wait!” She looked panicked. ‘You’re not actually boyfriends are you, because if you are I’m so sorry! I’ll back off from Michael, I promi-”

“M-Michael’s not my b-boyfriend!” Jeremy squeaked, cutting Christine off.

“Oh. Okay.” She breathed a sigh of relief and set Jeremy’s backpack down. ”In that case, do you think you could talk me up to him?” Christine practically begged. Little did she know he had been talking to Michael about Christine for years. Jeremy took one look at Christine’s face and he was defenseless.

“S-sure.” Fuck, Jeremy was screwed.

After rehearsal was over, Jeremy walked down the hall wondering what the fuck he was going to do. Out of everybody, Christine just had to have a crush on _Michael?_ Why Michael? I mean, Jeremy could totally get why someone would like Michael. He was cool and confident, but also a huge geek. His smile was contagious and whenever he got too excited he’d flail around his arms in wild gestures which was, admittedly, adorable. Not to mention he was incredibly attractive… objectively. But it would have been a lot easier on Jeremy if she liked literally _anyone_ else. 

What would he even say to Michael? ‘Oh hey, you know the girl I’ve have a huge crush on for the past two years? She likes you, dude!’ No. He couldn’t do that. Especially because he didn’t want to out Christine like that. I mean, Michael didn’t like her back… right? The thought made Jeremy’s heart constrict.  
No. He- he couldn’t like Christine. He’s never shown any interest in her. Actually, now that Jeremy thinks about it, he doesn’t think Michael’s shown any interest in, well, _anybody_. So m-maybe he doesn’t even want a relationship. Or… maybe he does like Christine and he didn’t tell Jeremy because he knows how much Jeremy likes her. But Michael wouldn’t actually date her. He couldn’t do something like that to Jeremy...

“Hey!” A voice startles Jeremy out of his thoughts. 

“Oh, hey Michael.” Jeremy gave Michael a half-smile.

“How was rehearsal?” He asked before noticing that Jeremy seemed off. “You look like ass. What’s wrong?” Of course Michael would notice something was off.

“It’s n-nothing, really.” Jeremy lied. He could tell Michael didn’t believe him, but he didn’t push it. “You know you don’t have to wait for me after school everyday I have rehearsal. I can walk home, you know?”

“Nah, it’s fine dude. I actually joined a club of my own so it’s not like I’m just sitting here waiting.” Michael told Jeremy.

“What club?” Michael froze at the question. Did he not want to answer? Why did he even bring it up if he didn’t want Jeremy to know?

“Um, I’ll tell you later.” Michael dismissed the question, walking out the front doors to the parking lot. Jeremy was really curious, but Michael didn’t push him, so he won’t push Michael.

At home, Jeremy was still trying to figure out what happened in his head. Christine said that something changed about Michael that made her like him, so what happened? Did Michael do something? He probably should ask her about that. Did it have to do with the club Michael joined? Or is that something separate from the Christine thing? Ugh! Why does life have to be so complicated?!?!

~~~

Michael didn’t even mean to bring up the club. It just came out. Unlike him… _Wow, Michael now’s totally the time to be making jokes._ He thought to himself. Michael was going to tell Jeremy about the club, obviously, just… not right now. He wasn’t ready. While Michael didn’t think Jeremy was homophobic, he just didn’t feel that he could tell him about the LGBTQ+ Club he joined.  
Michael really wasn’t sure how he should come out. He supposed he could just _tell_ Jeremy, but he couldn’t get the words out. Despite Michael telling himself that nothing will change between them, he couldn’t stop thinking about what if Jeremy hated him or thought that he was weird, once he said something. What if Jeremy connects the dots and realizes that Michael has had the biggest crush on him for years?! What would happen to their friendship then? That night was just another night Michael spent thinking about all the ways everything could go wrong until he passed out from exhaustion.

Walking along the hallway the next day, Michael–not paying attention–almost ran straight (More like gay) into Christine. “Oh, sorry.”

“M-Michael!” She squeaked. “I- I mean, y-you’re Michael, right?”

“Um, yeah. And you’re Christine Canigula.”

“Y-you know who I am?” She asked, seeming genuinely surprised.

“Oh, yeah, Jeremy talks about you all the time!” And he meant. All. The. Time.

“Oh.” Christine smiled. “Well, it’s nice to officially meet you, Michael.” She held out her hand. Michael looked at it a second before he realized she wanted him to shake her hand. As he did so, Jeremy came strolling down the hallway. Michael could see Jeremy’s eyes go wide for a second before his face went back to its neutral state.

“Hey, Jere.” Michael greeted as Jeremy came closer. 

“Hey, Michael. Hey, Christine.”

“Hello, Jeremy!”

“So, uh, whatcha guys doing?” Jeremy asked. Michael could tell Jeremy was nervous but he assumed it was because he was standing by Christine.

“Um, nothing really. We just bumped into each other. Almost literally.” Michael explained.

“Oh.” Jeremy opened his mouth to say something else, but then the bell ringed. “Oh look at that, it’s time for class! Michael, we have first period together today, right? Let’s go!” Jeremy hurriedly dragged Michael along behind him.

“Uh, okay.” Michael went along with it. “Bye, Christine.” He called behind him and he saw her give a little wave back. When they got far enough away, Jeremy slowed down. “Man, I knew you were nervous around Christine, but I didn’t know you got _that_ nervous!’ Michael commented. “You ran away so fast, you might as well have been dressed as Sonic!”

“Uh… right.” Jeremy murmured. He seemed lost in thought.

“Hey, Jeremy, you okay, buddy?” At that, Jeremy snapped back into reality.

“Oh, yeah, sorry. I’m just… thinking.” Jeremy said, vaguely. Michael had a feeling that Jeremy wasn’t going to want to talk about it, so he dropped it.

~~~

Jeremy still had a flurry of questions swarming around in his mind. When he saw Michael and Christine together, his first instinct was to get them away from each other. Which was crazy, right? He was letting this whole ‘Christine has a crush on Michael’ thing go to his head. It was natural to not want your crush to like someone else, but Jeremy hated the thought of those two getting together. Maybe it was because if they got together he'd be losing the girl and his best friend.

“You know I can’t believe that’s the first time I’ve actually officially met Christine. You talk about her so much it’s like I already know her.” Michael comments, as they walk into the classroom.  
_Wait…_ If that was the first time talking to each other, then… why was Christine so head-over-heels for Michael? Did she just admire him from afar like Jeremy used to do with Christine? What was this significant change she saw in Michael that made her like him? Jeremy decided it would be best to not overthink this any more than he needed to. Clearing his brain of everything, he sat down in his desk and waited for class to begin.

By the end of the day Jeremy decided he needed something to take his mind off everything, and _Jesus_ was he too sober for this. Speaking of which…  
“Hey, Michael!” Jeremy called over to the boy in the red hoodie.

Michael immediately came bounding down the hall to him. “Sup, Jeremy?”

“You wanna hang out?”

“Of course. Your place or mine?”

“Yours.” Michael was the one with the weed after all.

“Cool.” They both started walking out of school and towards Michael’s PT Cruiser. “After you.” Michael did a little bow, holding open the passenger door for Jeremy.

“Such a gentleman!” Jeremy gasped and they both laughed.

Getting high was strange. One second you’re totally fine and then it kicks in and your brain feels a little fuzzy. “Dude, how do you do this all the time?” Jeremy coughed. 

“Well, the more you do it, the less you cough.” Michael shrugged. He picked up two controllers and handed one to Jeremy. “Apocalypse of The Damned?”

“Always.” Jeremy took the controller from Michael and they started playing. However, soon they figured out that Jeremy wasn’t that great of a player when he was high. “Fuck. Shit! UGH!” Jeremy watched as his character died on screen. “How the fuck do you do this so good?”

“Dude, I don’t think that’s proper English.”

“Well, fuck that I’m not British!” Michael started laughing so hard at that that he almost died too. Jeremy stared as his best friend was wracked with laughter. Jeremy noticed the way Michael’s eyes crinkled and lit up as well as the way his smile stretched across his face. It was beautiful. Michael was beautiful. Of course, this isn’t something Jeremy is just noticing now. He always knew Michael was attractive. Maybe it was because he’s high but Jeremy really wanted to poke Michael’s dimples. So he does. 

“Dude, what are you doing?” Michael asked, not looking away from the game.

“I dunno. You just…. You got dimples, man.”

“Did you just noticed or something?”

“No. I just…” Jeremy doesn’t know how he was planning on ending that sentence. He looked back at Michael, who seemed to have dropped it and refocused back on the game. Jeremy takes the opportunity to look at Michael some more. Michael had really pretty eyes. They were a lovely brown color. Kinda like pools of chocolate. Jeremy liked chocolate. Michael’s eyes were hyper-focused right now but Jeremy thought back to earlier when his eyes were lit up with joy. Jeremy loved when that happened. Somehow it made his eyes even more beautiful.

Michael then pushed up his glasses, drawing Jeremy’s focus away for a second. Speaking of his glasses though, Jeremy liked how they framed his face. He didn’t know how to describe it but they just suited him. Not that he didn’t look nice without them, because he did. Michael just looked nice all the time. It’s really no wonder why Christine likes him.  
With the reminder of Christine back in his head, Jeremy frowned and cast his gaze towards the floor. He came here to get his mind off of all that. When he looked back up Michael was looking at him with concern. Jeremy didn’t know when Michael finished playing and, oh now Michael is saying something and Jeremy should probably be paying attention. “I’m sorry, what did you say?

“I asked if you’re okay, man. You just spaced out there and you looked kind of upset. So what’s up?” 

“Nothing.”

“It’s not nothing.”

“No, really. It’s just… I was thinking.”

“About what?” Now, Jeremy obviously wasn’t going to tell Michael about Christine, but he couldn’t think of a lie right now so he told half of the truth.

“Just that I thought that you were beautiful.” A blush spread on Michael’s cheeks.

“W-what?”

“I mean, no homo, but yeah.” Jeremy nodded and Michael rolled his eyes. Jeremy could still see a lingering blush on Michael’s face and he felt the urge to poke that, too.

“D-dude, what are you doing?” Michael exclaimed as Jeremy crawled into his lap. Jeremy sat facing Michael and placed his hands on either side of Michael’s head.

“Woah, your face his really soft!” Jeremy started petting Michael’s face. “Like, your face is as soft as it is beautiful!”

Michael’s blush returned and Jeremy poked his cheek. “Cute.” Jeremy commented, causing the blush to deepen.

“W-what?” Michael choked out.

“You’re blushing and it’s cute. It looks good on your face.” Jeremy told him, poking his cheek once more to emphasize ‘face’.

“U-uh, I think you’ve had a l-little too much, Jere.”

“What? No! You had the same amount as me!” Jeremy protested.

“Well, I can handle it better, you lightweight!” Michael responded, picking up Jeremy and placing him back down on his own bean bag. Jeremy frowned.

“But your lap was warm!” Jeremy whined.

“Geez, you turn into a child when you’re high.” Michael, leaned over and ruffled Jeremy’s hair, who scowled back at him. Michael glanced at the time and back at Jeremy. “I’m glad it’s the weekend, cause it’s getting late and I don’t want to send you home to your dad like this.”

“So, sleepover?” Jeremy smiled. Michael made a noise of approval and Jeremy immediately whipped out his phone to tell his dad he was staying the night at Michael’s.  
When he was done typing, Michael double checked to see if it was actually a coherent sentence and they sent it off. They stayed up a little longer and drank whatever soda Michael had. It was some of the discontinued soda that Michael always gets behind Spencer’s Gifts. Mountain Dew Red. Jeremy absently wondered what the difference was between this and Mountain Dew: Code Red. He’d probably have to go try that then and compare.  
Normally, soda would give Jeremy a bunch of energy, but he was coming down from his high and for some reason was really tired. “Michael, I’m tired.” Jeremy yawned.

“Me too. I would get out the air mattress, but I’m too lazy to blow it up right now and it’s not like we’ve never shared a bed before so…” Michael lifted Jeremy to his feet and they both plopped down on Michael’s bed.

“Goodnight, Jeremy.” Michael said, lifting up the blanket. Jeremy peeked over at Michael, who had his eyes already closed. He quickly leaned in and gave Michael a kiss on the forehead. Jeremy smiled when Michael’s eyes flew open.

“Goodnight, Michael.” Closing his own eyes, Jeremy began falling asleep.

“You’re going to be the death of me, Jere.” Was the last thing Jeremy heard before passing out. 

Jeremy woke up and almost immediately remembered what he did last night. He groaned into the pillow. Why did he have to do all those things? It was embarrassing just to think about it. It’s not like he didn’t mean all of those things but why did he have to crawl in Michael’s lap and touch his face? He took his face out of his pillow and looked over at Michael, who was still asleep. Strangely, even though he wasn’t high, Jeremy still felt that same urge to touch his face just to see if it was still soft. Jesus, what was wrong with him? But, Jeremy supposed it couldn’t hurt if Michael was still sleeping….  
He reached out and gently stroked Michael’s sleeping face. It was still soft. Jeremy doesn’t know why it wouldn’t be. He didn’t think his brain was just making up the fact that his best friend’s face was soft when he was high so he didn’t really have a reason for doing it again to check. Still, Jeremy was jealous. How did he get his face so soft and smooth? Jeremy’s face was bumpy with acne and he hated it.

He petted Michael’s face once more and his thumb accidentally brushed Michael’s lips. Jeremy froze. Jeremy didn’t know what possessed him to do so but he slowly moved his finger to press against Michaels lips. Inside, Jeremy was feeling a strange feeling that he could quite describe. Before he could even attempt to decipher it, Michael stirred in his sleep and Jeremy swiftly retracted his hand.  
Jeremy’s face was hot. He was sure he must look like a tomato. Turning to face the ceiling, Jeremy closed his eyes and tried to will away his blush. If Michael woke up right now, he’d wonder why Jeremy’s face was so red and there’s no way Jeremy could tell him that he… he… Shit, why did he even do that? What if Michael woke up when had been touching his lips? How would he have explained that to Michael? He couldn’t even explain it to himself!

Jeremy quickly got up and went to the bathroom. He splashed his face with some water and took a deep breath. He looked at himself in the mirror. He was definitely less red now, but he was still so very very confused.

~~~

When Michael woke up it took him a second to remember that Jeremy spent the night and then realize that Jeremy wasn’t next to him. Michael sat up and was about to go look for him when he heard the running of the faucet from his bathroom. Michael was glad he didn’t have to get out of bed yet. He hated getting up immediately after waking up. He just liked to lay down and think.  
For some reason Michael’s lips felt tingly. He reached up and touched his lips as if that would somehow get the tingly feeling to go away. As he did this, Jeremy walked back in the room and jumped a little when he saw Michael was awake. He noticed Jeremy look down to Michael’s lips and that’s when Michael realized he still had his hand there. He moved it back down to his side.

“Uh, good morning, Jeremy.”

“G-good morning…” Jeremy stood in place awkwardly for a minute before clearing his throat. “Um, I- I think I’m going to go h-home now so.”

“Wait, already? Are you feeling okay?” Michael inquired, genuinely concerned.

“No! I mean yes! I-I’m feeling okay. I just, um, remembered I needed to do stuff at home so, uh, yeah.” Jeremy gave him a small smile but it didn’t look like a real smile to Michael. And Michael knew what a real Jeremy smile looked like.

“Are you sure?” Michael asked.

“Yes. Really, I’m fine. See ya at school on Monday?”

“Yeah.”

With that, Jeremy left. Michael could tell something was bothering Jeremy, but he wasn’t going to push him. Michael laid back down on his back and stared at the ceiling. He tried to think of a reason as to why Jeremy was so jumpy this morning. He couldn’t really think of one until he remembered. Maybe… Maybe Jeremy was so awkward because of what he did last night. Michael remember some of the things Jeremy said about him and blushed.  
There was no way Jeremy knew what saying those things was doing to Michael. Michael had felt like his heart was going to explode when Jeremy sat in his lap and started complimenting him like mad. If Michael didn’t know any better, he’d think it was a dream. A beautiful, wonderful dream. He could still feel Jeremy’s hands on his face.  
At that moment, Michael had wanted nothing more than to grab the back of Jeremy’s head and just kiss him. If it really was a dream, he would have. But this is reality. And the real Jeremy doesn’t like Michael like that. Still, it was so easy to imagine if they actually were in a relationship in that moment. That Jeremy really meant all of those things he said. It was true that Michael was too lazy to get out the air mattress but he mainly chose not to so that he could savour that a little bit and be close to Jeremy. Of course, then Jeremy kissed him on the forehead and Michael thought he was going to die.

And then, Jeremy ran out on him. The fantasy that Jeremy liked him back was ripped right out from under his feet. Michael doesn’t know why he allows himself to indulge in those fantasies because it always hurts more when it’s over.

~~~

Jeremy panicked. He had come out of the bathroom and not only was Michael awake, but he had a hand on his lips. _‘Shit, does he know?’_ Jeremy had thought, _‘Was he actually awake the whole time? He isn’t acting like anything is weird, so maybe not.. But I can’t stay here and act like everything’s normal right now! I gotta get out of here.’_  
Jeremy practically ran out of there as soon as Michael wasn’t looking. He sprinted all the way home, right up to his room, where he collapsed on his bed. Getting his breath under control after all that running, Jeremy tried to figure out what the fuck just happened. Last night was weird, sure, but Jeremy could just blame that on being high. However, he couldn’t say the same for this morning. Maybe, _maybe_ he could blame it on just waking up and being still a little tired. Jeremy clung to that idea, since it was his only way of explaining what he just did. If he said it enough, he could convince himself. Because that had to be the reason… right?

Coming back to school on Monday, Jeremy had pushed the weekend out of his mind. With that out of the way, however, his mind was back on Christine. She said she saw some sort of change in Michael, but he seemed the same to Jeremy. Nevermind, of course he’s still the same person; Christine just doesn’t know Michael as well as Jeremy. So she learned something about Michael that made her like him. Jeremy could name a whole lot of things that she could have noticed because Michael has so many good qualities. Still, he was curious as to what exactly she saw in Michael. Maybe if he knew, he could somehow use that to his advantage like convincing Christine to not like Michael. Or… if he had this quality that Michael apparently has, then he could gain Christine’s affection, right?

Part of Jeremy felt wrong even thinking that. He shouldn’t be manipulating his friends. He should be helping Christine, despite his crush on her. But the bigger part of Jeremy wanted to reject any thought of Christine and Michael together. Honestly, he felt like throwing up when he did think about it. Which is _terrible!!!_ He shouldn’t be having that kind of reaction! Logically, he could see them being a cute couple but it also physically hurt him to imagine. His chest constricted and he could feel tears pricking at his eyes and he just can’t understand it but he hates it. Why is he feeling like this?

“Jeremy, my buddy!” Michael called, taking Jeremy out of his thoughts.

“Hey, Michael.” Jeremy smiled weakly.

“Dude, are you okay? You’ve been acting weird for a while now. It’s fine you don’t want to tell me or anything, but I’m worried about you.” Michael admitted and Jeremy could see in his eyes that he was genuinely concerned for Jeremy. Seeing Michael care so much made Jeremy’s heart flutter. Wow, that’s new.

“Sorry. It’s just that someone told me something the other day that I’m still trying to process.” Jeremy told Michael, leaving out the details. Michael nodded in understanding.

“Okay. Just know you can always come to me if you need anything. Or like, want to talk.” Michael placed in hand on Jeremy’s shoulder. Jeremy could feel heat seeping through his clothes from where Michael was touching.

“O-of course.” Why did he stutter??? “You’re my favourite person, I’ll always go to you for things.”

Michael seemed shocked for a second. “Is it really true?” Michael leaned into Jeremy’s space. “I’m your _fav-wite_ person?” Michael grinned.

“Y-yeah, we’re never not gonna be a team.” Dang it, he stuttered again. Michael’s face was really close now and for some reason Jeremy felt like he was overheating. But then, Michael backed off and Jeremy could breathe again. 

Michael opened his mouth to say something when Christine came up to Jeremy. “Jeremy! Oh, uh, hey Michael.” Jeremy could practically see hearts in her eyes when she addressed Michael. “Sorry, but I need to borrow Jeremy for a bit.” She quickly dragged Jeremy off. Once Michael was out of view, she stopped. “Oh my gosh that was so embarrassing, I didn’t realize you were talking to _Michael_. And then I just stole you. Do you think he hates me now? ” Christine was hyperventilating.

“Woah, woah, woah. You’re overreacting, Christine.” Jeremy tried to calm her down. “Michael doesn’t hate you. 

“You’re right, I’m just being over dramatic, as always.” Christine takes a deep breath. “Anyways,” She turned to Jeremy smiling as if she didn’t just freak out. “I just wanted to know if you’ve been doing a good job as my wingman. I’m not doubting you or anything! I just want to know if you’ve made any progress.”

“Um.” Jeremy tried to think of something to say. He didn’t exactly do anything to help Christine. Sure, he’s talked to Michael about Christine a lot, but that was mostly him gushing and Michael rolling his eyes. “Well, I’ve been telling him about you.”

“Like what?”

“Um, like how passionate about play rehearsal you are, how you’re in love with Shakespeare, and you know the lyrics to every musical ever made.” Christine rolled her eyes at the last one.

“Just because you don’t know that many musicals doesn’t mean I know every single one.”

“You still know a lot of musicals and all the lyrics to all the songs in those musicals.”

“Well, maybe not _all_ the lyrics to every song, but yes most of them.” Christine shrugged. “Anyways, it sounds like you’re doing okay. Sorry for dragging you over here.” She giggled.  
“Over _Heere_. I just realized that oh my gosh.”

“Please don’t.” Jeremy groaned. “I already get enough of that from Michael.” He could see Christine’s eyes soften at the name and Jeremy felt sick again. He almost left then but his curiosity got the better of him. “When you first told you me you liked Michael, you went on about him being different than what you originally thought. I was just wondering what exactly changed?”

“Oh. Well, like I said, I didn’t really know him. I still don’t really know him. But I want to, you know? Anyways, I would just randomly see him doing something nice for someone and his selflessness just attracted me to him, I guess.”

“Something nice?”

“Yeah, once I was at 7-Eleven and he was in line a little bit in front of me and he paid for the person behind him. And _then_ he left but a few seconds later he _came back inside_ to buy some food for this homeless guy who was sitting outside. I had given him a little bit of money before I came in, of course, but Michael went above and beyond.” Christine’s eyes were sparkling. “And that’s just one example! I’m not stalking him or anything, but I’ve been noticing all these little things he does for complete strangers! So many people overlook how the tiniest thing like holding a door open for someone can improve someone’s day! But not him.” She had a dreamy tone of voice and Jeremy wasn’t sure if he could take listening to her gush about Michael any more.

“Y-yeah. M-Michael is great, isn’t he?” Jeremy glanced in the direction he left Michael. Thankfully the bell rang then, giving Jeremy an excuse to leave. “See ya later, Chris!” Jeremy was already walking away.

“Goodbye, Jeremy!” Christine waved, barely recognizing the nickname.

He turned back around the corner and thankfully Michael was still there, so he ran up to him. “Hey, walk me to class?” Jeremy smiled.

“Sure.”

Right when the got to Jeremy’s class, before he could walk in, Michael stopped him. “Dude, you’re coming with me today, right?”

“What?”

“Bro, it’s Bring Your Own Cup day at 7-Eleven!” Michael exclaimed. “Did I forget to mention that? Either way, you gotta come get a slushie with me!” He grinned. “Seriously, did we buy those giant matching cups for nothing?” Jeremy remembers buying those cups. Michael had seen them at the store and insisted they buy them. They were red and blue respectively with big curly straws sticking out of them. Jeremy wasn’t sure what he’d do with a cup bigger than the size of his head until Michael mentioned it would be good for a BYOC day.

“Oh, yeah. I’m always down for a slushie.” Jeremy agreed.

“Ok, cool. After school we’ll go and get our cups and then drive on down to our local 7-Eleven and get our _slurp_ on!” Michael laughed. He was doing that thing where he flailed his arms around excitedly. That was always unfairly cute for some reason. “See ya!” Then Michael was putting on his headphones and walking away, a bounce in his step.

Jeremy was all too familiar with the 7-11 near the school. He and Michael went there all the time, so it was hard not to know his way around by now. Michael made a beeline for the Slurpee machine. Honestly, Jeremy was surprised there wasn’t more of a line. There was only two other people there. Anyways, they filled up their giant cups to the brim and paid.  
Jeremy and Michael walked out, unsure of where they were going. They wandered around talking about random things until they ended up at the park. To be honest, Jeremy didn’t know where they were anymore, so he really hoped Michael did. Either way, Michael hopped over and sat at a picnic table. Jeremy followed and watched as Michael sipped on the rest of his slushie.

Jeremy’s eyes followed the curly straw from the point in disappeared into the cup to where Michael had his lips wrapped around it. Jeremy flushed, almost immediately remembering the weekend he tried so desperately to forget about. He cleared his throat and averted his eyes.  
Michael suddenly stood up. “Race ya to the swings!” He shouted and ran over to the playground. Jeremy quickly got up and followed after him. 

“That’s not fair!” He yelled to Michael, who just laughed, already at the swings.

“Sorry, not sorry. That’s just the way it goes, Jerebear.” Jeremy turned red at the name. It’s not like Michael had never called him that before, so there was no reason to be flustered. Still, Jeremy’s face heated up on it’s own accord. Jeremy really hoped Michael just blamed the redness of his face on the running he just did.

~~~

Michael sat on one of the swings, which was a little awkward given he was still holding his cup. Holding onto the chain with one hand, Michael kicked his feet out. Jeremy hesitantly sat on the swing next to him. “Don’t these things have a weight limit?”

Michael gasped. “Jeremiah Heere, are you calling me fat?!” Michael shifted around in his seat. “Although, to be honest my butt is kind of being squished by this swing.” Michael was pretty sure if he stayed on there long enough, his thighs would permanently be glued together. It was kind of painful, but it was worth it. Swinging his legs back and forth, Michael built up a steady pace and began going higher and higher. Jeremy stayed put, only slightly swaying on the swing. 

Then Michael heard a thud, followed by a child crying. He practically jumped off the swing. 

“Michael!” Jeremy called, sounding worried that Michael might hurt himself.

“I’m fine.” He quickly got up, handed his cup to Jeremy, and searched for the source of the crying. He spotted a little boy who looked like he just fell off of the monkey bars and ran over to him. Michael helped the boy up, dusted him off and searched for any sign of a parent around. He saw a lady a little ways away and he pointed to her. “Is that your mommy?” Michael asked the little boy, gently. The boy nodded, sniffling.  
Michael walked the boy over to his mother, who frantically looked over her son for any bruises before thanking Michael profusely for helping. “It’s really nothing.” He told her, and turned to head back over to Jeremy. 

Jeremy was still sitting in the swing, looking completely in awe. Michael raised his eyebrow at him, silently questioning the look on Jeremy’s face. “You’re just so nice, Micah.” Michael’s heart skipped a beat at the nickname. “It’s exactly like she said...” Jeremy’s expression grew dark.

“Exactly like who said?” Michael inquired, concerned at Jeremy’s sudden change in mood. But then Jeremy was back to smiling.

“It doesn’t really matter. The point is, you do so many good things for others and expect nothing in return. That’s really just amazing.” Jeremy was looking at Michael as if he was this beautiful thing, and Michael didn’t know if he could handle that. That look was way too close to the look he knows he gives Jeremy. Michael knew his face must be red by now.

“I- It’s really nothing.” He repeated. “I’m just being a decent human being.”

“Yeah. The world would be a whole lot better if everyone was just like you, Mikey.” Jesus, first Micah now Mikey? Michael might have just died on the spot. This boy was definitely going to kill him one day. On his tombstone it’s going to read: Died because his gay ass couldn’t handle Jeremy Heere being so fucking cute.

“Um, Michael?” Jeremy waved his hand in front of Michael’s face and Michael realized he must have spaced out. He was just thinking about how adorable Jeremy was and got lost.

“Oh, sorry.”

“Uh, by the way… Do you know where we are?”

“At a park?”

“No, I mean do you know how to get home from here?” Oh.

“You don’t recognize this park?” Michael asked, kind of disappointed.

“Uh, no. Why?” The look of complete confusion on Jeremy’s face was really cute but _focus, Michael, focus._

“Dude, we played all the time at this park when we were little!” Jeremy gazed around at the park.

“Oh… OH! I remember now! We use to climb to the top of the play structure and pretend we were fighting off a group of zombies down below! Oh, and there was that one time where you got ‘bit’ and I had to shoot you.”

“We were really dark kids.” Michael commented, thinking back.

“Ok but I still don't know the way home from here, so you'll have to lead the way.” 

Michael laughed. “What would you do without me?”

“Die a horrible painful death?” Jeremy guessed. “I mean, when the zombie apocalypse inevitably comes, I’m gonna need my player one.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I’ll always have your back, Jere.” Michael threw his arm around Jeremy. “By the way, can I have my cup back?”

“Oh! Right, sorry.” Jeremy handed Michael back his slushie.

“No problem, dude.” Michael took a sip. “So did you want to go now or…? Because I kinda don’t want to leave.”

“Why?”

“Well, it’s nice here. Plus, I just like hanging out with you.”

“Oh.”

“Why do you sound so surprised? You told me that I’m your favorite person, so just know that goes both ways.” 

Jeremy smiled at that. “Well, I guess we can stay a bit longer.”

They spent the day joking around and reenacting the games they played as kids and ended up staying in that park until the sun started to set.

The next day, Michael almost ran right into Christine… again. She nearly dropped all of the papers she was holding. “Michael! We’ve got to stop meeting like this.”

“Yeah, sorry.” Michael laughed “I guess I need to pay more attention to where I’m going.” Michael was going to walk away but then Christine spoke.

“Actually, as long as I’ve got you, would you like to sign up to tech for the school play?”

“Tech?”

“Yeah, like work the lights and sounds and such. You don’t need any experience or anything either. You’ll be taught how to work the equipment.” Christine explained. “So what do you think?”

Michael almost said yes until he remembered he couldn’t. It would have been fun to have an excuse to see Jeremy all the time, but he was a part of a club now. “Um, sorry Christine. I actually am in a club, so I wouldn’t be able to make all of your rehearsals.”

“Oh.” Christine looked so disappointed that Michael wanted to take it back, but he knew he couldn’t do that. “Maybe another time?”

“Um, sure...”

“So what club are you a part of?” Shit. He wasn’t planning on coming out like this...

“Uh…”

~~~

Jeremy didn’t understand this boiling feeling he felt. Jealousy, he supposed. Did jealousy always feel this intense? Looking across the hall to where Michael was chatting with Christine, his skin itched to get them apart. He hated it so much. Michael should be allowed to talk to whoever he wants and the same goes for Christine. But what if that conversation led to more? What if Christine asked Michael out? What if he said yes?  
Which, again, Michael and Christine are allowed to date whoever they want, but Jeremy swears he can feel his heart break when he thinks about them together.  
Jeremy didn’t know when he started walking but now he was. “Hey!” He called. Both of their eyes snapped to him.

“Jeremy!” Michael hugged him and whispered into his ear. “You seriously have the most perfect timing.” Jeremy would be sure to ask about that later.

Releasing Michael from his hug, Jeremy waved at Christine, who gave a little wave back. She seemed like she was about to say something when she shut her mouth and opened it again. “I’d love to stay and chat with you two, but actually, I’ve got to get back to finding some people to tech for our big show.” She held up her clipboard. “Plus, the bell already rang so I gotta go. See ya later!” Wait. The bell rang? Jeremy quickly glanced at the clock. They only had three minutes to get to their next class! When did that happen?!?

Jeremy swiftly grabbed Michael’s hand and began walking to their first period. “Dude, our next class is literally right there, why are you rushing?”

“You know I hate being late to class.”

“We have three minutes and it will take three seconds to get over there.” Jeremy looked at the door and back at Michael.

“Technically, yes. But we usually get to class early.”

“Yeah, you practically drag me there as soon as the five minute bell rings.”

They were now just standing in the hall, still holding hands. Jeremy realized this, but he didn’t really feel like letting go. He glanced down at their hands and felt a weird sense of warmth for some reason…  
Michael seemed to have noticed as well now because he moved his fingers around. “Uh, you’re still holding my hand.”

“Yeah, I noticed.” 

“Are… Are you going to let it go?” Michael’s fingers twitched.

“If you want me to…”

“N-not really.” Michael’s voice cracked a little bit.

They stand there for another minute before Jeremy finally lets go. “Dude, that was really gay.”

Michael snorted. “Maybe we should get to class now?”

“Oh shit right.” Like Michael said, it only took three seconds to get there. They sat down next to each other like always and Jeremy remembered something. “By the way, you said I showed up at the perfect time. What was that about?”

“Oh, Christine just asked me a question I didn't really want to answer right then.”

Jeremy's mind immediately jumped to a conclusion. “D-did she ask you out?”

“What no why would she do that?” Jeremy let out a breath of relief. “Wait, was that just you getting jealous?”

“What? No! Why would I be jealous of Christine?” Jeremy snapped defensively

“Uh, I was talking about you being jealous of me…”

“Oh. Right…” Jealous of Michael. Not Christine. Why would he even say that? Thankfully, the class started before he could overthink that.

It's only hit Jeremy later that he didn't ask what the question actually was. He knew it wasn’t Christine asking out Michael, so what was it? Jeremy finally spotted Michael in the hall and walked up to him. Michael had his headphones and didn’t seem to notice Jeremy, so he tapped on his shoulder. Michael turned around and took off his headphones when he saw who it was.

“Hey, Mikey, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Well, if the question Christine asked you earlier wasn’t her asking you out, then what was it?” Michael remained silent. He looked as if he were contemplating on whether or not to answer. “Unless you don’t want to tell me either…”

“No!” Michael bursted. “I do. It’s just difficult for me to say.”

“Well, you know you can tell me anything, right? I won’t judge you. We’ve known each other way too long for that.”

“You’re right.” Michael agreed and took a deep breath. “Ok, so here it goes… She asked me what club I’m apart of.”

“Yeah, you wouldn’t tell me that either.”

“That’s because… the club I’m in is the LGBTQ+ Club.” Jeremy didn’t react so Michael clarified. “Jeremy, I’m gay.” 

“Oh. _Oh. Oooohhhhh_ ” Michael was gay? That’s perfect! That means he has a chance! “That’s great!”

“It is?” Michael asked, obviously confused whether Jeremy meant that it’s great he came out or that it’s great he’s gay. Obviously, it’s both. Jeremy is proud of Michael for coming out and he’s happy he’s gay because… because… It _should_ be because of Christine but that’s not was Jeremy was thinking when he said it was great. He was thinking-  
Shit this isn’t about Christine, is it? It was never about Christine! It was about Michael! Finally Jeremy understood all the strange feelings he was feeling…  
Jeremy looked up at Michael, who still had a puzzled expression on his face and Jeremy realized just how much he wanted to kiss that expression off his face. Fuck, this explains so much. Because when he looked at Michael, he saw pure beauty. Michael and his stupidly soft face, cute dimples, contagious smile, adorable wild gestures, and just his general amazing personality. That’s the most beautiful thing Jeremy could ever imagine.

“Dude, I think I’m bi.” Jeremy blurted out, surprising even himself.

“Wait, really?”

“Yeah, I just figured it out like literally a second ago.”

“Wait what? My confession made you realize you were bi? How’d you get that?”

“Because it made me really happy? And not because it means you won’t steal Christine from me like I originally _thought_ all my weird jealous feelings were about. But because then… maybe? I’d have a chance with you?”

Michael was stunned silent for a second. “...Dude.” Shit, Jeremy freaked him out, didn’t he? 

“I’m sorry, it’s probably weird that I have a crush on you. I’ll try to get over it an-” Jeremy was cut off from rambling by Michael pressing his lips to Jeremy’s. Jeremy’s brain didn’t even process the kiss until Michael had already pulled away. “What?” He squeaked, still trying to figure out what just happened.

“You idiot.” Michael laughed. “And to think I was worried about coming out to you because I thought you’d realize my giant crush I’ve had on you since 7th grade! Seriously, I thought it was super obvious that I’m in love with you! Dude, this is seriously the best coming out ever!”

Jeremy didn’t hear the last part of what Michael said, his mind still stuck on three little words.  
“You l-love me?”

“I’m pretty sure that’s what I said.” Michael smiled and Jeremy finally broke out of his haze.

“Oh, just shut up and kiss me. I didn’t get the chance to kiss you back before.”

“What’s the magic word?” Michael teased.

“Abra Kadabra?” Jeremy deadpanned back. Michael gave him a disapproving look. “What? Those are magic words.” Michael’s face didn’t change. “Come on, you love me!”

Michael sighed. “Yeah, I do.”

“For the record, I love you too. I’ve just been an idiot not to see it.” 

Michael quickly swooped in a gave Jeremy another kiss. This time, Jeremy definitely responded. Jeremy didn’t get the chance to enjoy this before because his brain short-circuited, but now he was really kissing Michael Mell and it was everything he wanted and more. Michael’s glasses kind of poked his face and to be honest neither of them knew what they were doing, but it was perfect.

When Michael pulled away, Jeremy was a little disappointed, but he knew in the back of his mind that he could do that whenever he wanted now. “So, when you thought Christine asked me out, you were jealous of her! Why did you think she’d want to ask me out anyways?”

“Well, actually she told me she has a crush on you and I instantly didn’t like that. Like I said, I thought at first I was jealous of you, but really I just didn’t like the thought of her dating you. I also agreed to be her wingman or whatever but I didn’t want to do that at all.” And what a great wingman Jeremy was. “Shit. What am I going to tell her?”

“That you’re the worst wingman in the world?”

“You’re not wrong…”

Jeremy was kind of dreading going to play rehearsal because he knew he’d have to talk to Christine. He gather his nerves and opened the auditorium door. 

“Hey, Jeremy!” Almost immediately, he hears Christine calling him. 

“Uh, hey Christine. Um, so you know how you wanted me to get you with Michael?”

“Yeah?” She looked so excited that Jeremy had to look away.

“Well, it turns out he’s gay. He just came out to me.”

“Oh.” Jeremy could hear just how disappointed she was and couldn’t bear to face her again, but he had to continue. “I, uh, I also may have started dating him instead???”

“Jeremiah Heere! I send you to talk me up and you end up getting with the guy? I thought you were supposed to be my wingman, not the other way around!”

“Uh, yeah, sorry. It’s just that knowing you had a crush on him made me kinda jealous and I didn’t know why until recently, so…”

Christine sighed. “It’s fine Jeremy. If he’s gay, I didn’t have a chance with him anyway. I should have seen it coming, though. All the best boys are gay…” She trailed off. “But really, you could’ve save me a lot of trouble if you had told me you were boyfriends when I asked. Then I wouldn’t have had to go through all this.” She winked.

“But we weren’t boyfriends! I didn’t even realize I had feelings for him until today!

“Jeremy, I know you weren’t boyfriends then, I was joking.”

“Wait, are we boyfriends now? I didn’t ask but I think we are?? ...Michael Mell is my boyfriend.” He tested. The phrase felt nice on his tongue. Jeremy blushed.

“Stop rubbing it in!” Christine playfully pushed Jeremy.

“But _Michael Mell_ is my _boyfriend_.” Jeremy whisper-yelled.

“You just like saying it, don’t you?”

“...yes?”

“Ok, you can say it one more time.”

“Michael Mell is my boyfriend!!” Christine giggled. “Hey, Chris? I’m sure there’s going to be lots of people lining up to date you.” He should know, he used to be one of them.

“Thanks, Jeremy. But it’s more of whether I’ll like them back. And even if I do, will they expect more than I’m willing to give them?”

“More than you’re willing to give them?”

“Jeremy, I’m asexual. I thought you knew this. Did I not tell you?”

“No??? Shouldn’t you say something like that to your wingman so they can tell the person you like and make sure it works with them?”

“You weren’t a very good wingman anyways.”

“Okay, that’s fair.”

Later that day, Jeremy and Michael walked out of the school hand in hand and Jeremy couldn’t think of anything that felt more right. He still couldn’t believe all this happened. Jeremy realized he was in love with his best friend and it turned out Michael had felt the same way for a while. “So, 7th grade, huh?” Jeremy smirked at his boyfriend. He still got a thrill from that word.

“Oh my god, shut up.” Michael shoved him.

“Make me.” Jeremy said, deciding to be bold. Michael smiled and placed a kiss upon Jeremy’s lips.

“It makes me so happy that I can just do that now.” Michael spoke, lips still touching Jeremy’s.

“Me too.”

The two boys went to Jeremy’s house and watched movies. Although, it was more like the movies were playing but they weren’t actually paying attention. They were so entranced with each other that they didn’t hear a word that was said. Eventually, they did pass out, curled into each other. When Jeremy’s dad came in a little later, he raised an eyebrow at the boys but just threw a blanket over them and tucked them in. He’d talk to Jeremy about this tomorrow, but for now Jeremy and Michael slept peacefully, cuddled up to each other and smiling in their sleep.


End file.
